SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 590

	WHEREAS, Of the legions of Americans who have stepped 
forward to serve their country in times of conflict, thousands 
have endured the harrowing burdens of captivity as well as the 
searing trials of battle, and on April 9, 2003, citizens of this 
nation pause to honor the tremendous heroism and sacrifice of 
American prisoners of war; and

	WHEREAS, Every year since 1985, the president of the
United States has proclaimed Former Prisoner of War Recognition 
Day, in grateful tribute to those who have paid such a heavy price 
for their love of country and sense of duty; and

	WHEREAS, The freedoms that our nation enjoys have been 
dearly bought; those who have been captured during wartime have 
known, in addition to the horrors of the battlefield, privation, 
and often torture, and their torment has sometimes extended for 
years; and

	WHEREAS, It was the suffering of United States Prisoners
of War on Bataan during World War II that gave rise to what is now 
the American Ex-Prisoner of War Organization, a nationwide group 
that presently has 22 chapters in the Lone Star State; and

	WHEREAS, The roll of American Prisoners of War, from the 
United States' entry into World War II to the present day, 
numbers more than 150,000; during World War II alone, some 
130,000 military personnel and nearly 19,000 civilians were 
captured and interned by the Nazis and by the Japanese; the 
number of those captured and interned in the Korean War totaled 
more than 7,000, in the Vietnam War, over 800, and in the 1991 
Gulf War, 21, while some 1,900 Americans listed as missing during 
the Vietnam War remain unaccounted for; and

	WHEREAS, Today, as United States military forces engage in 
combat in Iraq, the ordeal of American prisoners of war again 
weighs on the hearts of all Americans, and we keep these men and 
women in our thoughts and in our prayers; and

	WHEREAS, Citizens of this nation owe an immeasurable debt 
to those who have continued to serve their country and the cause 
of freedom while being held in captivity; their extraordinary 
courage and patriotism are deserving of their fellow Americans' 
deepest gratitude, and it is indeed appropriate that a day be set 
aside in honor of their sacrifice, tenacity, and indomitable 
spirit; now, therefore, be it


	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,
78th Legislature, hereby recognize April 9, 2003, as Former 
Prisoner of War Recognition Day and encourage its observance by 
all Texans.

Van de Putte      Fraser             Madla              
Estes               Lucio              Shapleigh          
                                                          
Armbrister          Ellis               Ratliff            
Averitt             Gallegos            Shapiro            
Barrientos          Harris              Staples            
Bivins              Hinojosa            Wentworth          
Brimer              Jackson             West               
Carona              Janek               Whitmire           
Deuell              Lindsay             Williams           
Duncan              Nelson              Zaffirini          
                    Ogden                                  




Dewhurst, President of the Senate





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     Member, Texas Senate               Member, Texas Senate



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     Member, Texas Senate               Member, Texas Senate



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     Member, Texas Senate               Member, Texas Senate




                                          ______________________________ 
   President of the Senate
 
     I hereby certify that the 
above Resolution was adopted by 
the Senate on April 9, 2003.



______________________________ 
   Secretary of the Senate